VR gaming headset Oculus Rift delayed after Kickstarter success

It wasn’t just new entries in classic video game series that raised massive funds via Kickstarter this year. New video game hardware raised hefty sums to boot. A company named Oculus set out to raise $250,000 for the development, manufacture and distribution of VR-style gaming goggles called the Oculus Rift in August. Instead it raised over $2.4 million. With developers like Gabe Newell of Valve, John Carmack of id Software, and ex-Epic creative head Cliff Bleszinski hyping the technology it’s no wonder people got excited. It will be some time yet before game developers start working with the hardware, though. Oculus Rift development kits, previously planned for December, have been delayed until at least March 2013.

“Designing, sourcing, and manufacturing thousands of developer kits is no small feat,” writes Oculus’ head Palmer Luckey in the latest Kickstarter update, “Since our Kickstarter, we’ve been up against the wall, working around the clock to produce and distribute over 7500 units in just four short, crazy months. We’ve had to modify our original design for mass-manufacturing and, at the same time, balance additional features with our tight schedule.”

The Oculus Rift is the second video game-related Kickstarter project to get delayed further into next year. Shadowrun Returns was pushed back from January to June.